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In Hainsight: Fifth it Is! |
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Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
Throughout the season, Canadiens’ fans allowed themselves to dream that their beloved Habs could perhaps not only win the lottery, but also claim the 2nd pick with the Panthers’ pick they got in the Ben Chiarot trade. For a while, it looked like it was possible if not plausible, but the dream came crashing down when the Cats qualified for the playoffs and the last glimmer of hope was lost last night when Bill Daily revealed that the Canadiens would be picking 5th. It might have come as a shock to the biggest dreamers out there but not to the Canadiens’ brass.
That’s the difference between fans and team personnel, while the former can dream, the later plans and is very aware of the odds. When Kent Hughes spoke to the media last night, he stated that his team expected to pick between somewhere between 5th and 7th and that in that sense, they got the best outcome they had planned for. The die has been cast and the Canadiens rebuilt will have to go ahead without Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli, but there will still be great players available when the Habs speak for the first time in Nashville.
Meanwhile, the Chicago Blackhawks were the big winners of last night’s exercise, jumping two spots to win the Connor Bedard derby. There’s no denying that this was a rather unpopular outcome, not only for the fan bases of the teams that didn’t win, but also with everyone who hates the fact that the league can reward “tanking”. Make no mistake, just like the Canadiens, the Blackhawks are undergoing a rebuild, but to do theirs they decided to get rid of everyone who could possibly help them win games last season, which is something Montreal avoided doing. If you want to see the bright side of things though, the Canadiens benefited from the Hawks’ fire sale, managing to land Kirby Dach.
Now that the draft lottery and the conspiracy theories are in the rearview mirror, it’s time to think about who the Canadiens may draft at number five. The last time Montreal picked fifth, they made the history altering decision of drafting Carey Price who went on to become one of the best goaltenders in the team’s history. That didn’t translate into team success though and the Canadiens haven’t won the cup in 30 years. With a new administration at the helm and a new philosophy, they Habs are done building from the net out and they’ve got a new attacking frame of mind, which is great timing considering how many offensively talented players will be ripe for the picking in June.
As the draft approach, we’ll no doubt hear a lot of “will they/won’t they” worthy of the great Rachel and Ross seduction dance in the heydays of Friends about Russian prospect Matvei Michkov. Will the Canadiens dare to pick him if he’s still available at fifth? Should they? Hughes admitted last night that the Habs would have to do their due diligence in that matter now that they know where they are picking. Had they won the lottery, they wouldn’t have had to worry about it, but now they do.
Furthermore, the Canadiens’ GM confessed that picking the young Russian would be scarier than making another pick due to the current situation. Russia’s war with Ukraine has had plenty of consequences including in the sporting world. With the country being banned from international competition, it’s a lot harder to scout Michkov and that could play against him. There’s also the fact that he has a contract with the SKA St. Petersburgh that should keep him in his homeland until the end of the 2025-2026 season. Both Hughes and Gorton have said that they expect the team to get more competitive next year, are they willing to put their chips on the Michkov gamble in the hope that he will cross the ocean once his 3-year deal is over? Hard to say. Personally, as I’ve written before, I don’t think the Canadiens can afford to take the risk. A top-5 pick in such a deep draft is a hot commodity and it needs to be used in a manner that will definitely speed up the Canadiens’ rebuild, not squandered on an exciting prospect that may never be available.
Who are the Habs likely to go for? Well, that’s a topic which we’ll be discussing at length in the next few weeks, check this space regularly to get my thoughts on the matter. Hopefully, somewhere in between potential target articles, there will be one about a Cole Caufield extension, I sure hope that comes sooner rather than later.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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